Disgruntled taxpayer rams car into IRS building

A 48-year-old resident of Center Point, AL, who was apparently upset about his finances, rammed his car into the Birmingham, AL IRS building on Tuesday.

After a phone call with the IRS, in which the man, who has not been named in the press, threatened an IRS agent, the agent called Birmingham police. A Jefferson County sheriff was dispatched to the man's house where he was told by the man's wife that the man had left his house. The wife told authorities that the man was armed.

The wife provided the sheriff with the man's cell phone number. When a dispatcher from the sheriff's office contacted the man on his phone, the man indicated he intended to kill himself.

According to a report in the Birmingham news, the dispatcher tried to calm the man down and asked where he was, but the man said not to worry about where he was. He said he was going to drive himself off a cliff and then everybody would know his location.

The man did not appear to be injured after driving his car into the IRS building, but was taken to Cooper Green Mercy Hospital for evaluation. No one at the IRS office was injured in the crash.

No formal charges have been filed, however Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Henry Irby indicated that the man could face state and federal charges.